30m babies on the brink of death – UN-backed report

Nearly 30 million babies are born too soon, too small or become sick,
requiring specialised care to survive beyond the first month of life,
according to a new UN-backed report.

The report, ‘Survive and Thrive: Transforming care for every small and
sick new born’, was released by a global coalition that includes the
UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organisation (WHO).

UNICEF deputy executive director, Omar Abdi said: “When it comes to
babies and their mothers, the right care at the right time in the
right place can make all the difference.

“Yet, millions of small and sick babies and women are dying every year
because they simply do not receive the quality care that is their
right, and our collective responsibility.”

The report found that babies with complications from being born
premature, or suffering brain injury during childbirth, severe
bacterial infection or jaundice, risk death, and disability.

Furthermore, the financial and psychological toll on their families
can affect their cognitive, linguistic and emotional development, it
stated.

“For every mother and baby, a healthy start from pregnancy through
childbirth and the first months after birth is essential,” said Soumya
Swaminathan, deputy director general for programmes at WHO.

The report said some 2.5 million newborns died in 2017, mostly from
preventable causes; nearly two-thirds were premature, adding should
these babies survive, they often face chronic diseases or
developmental delays.

Figures disclosed that an estimated one million small and sick
new-borns survived each year with a long-term disability.

The report projects optimistically, that the lives of 2.9 million
women, still-born and new-born in 81 countries can be saved by 2030.

It recommended providing 24-hour and seven-day inpatient care for
newborns and instituting partnerships between families and trained
nurses for hands-on care.